Blinded
by Annalynn Roe
Summary: Trouble has the Titans out of Jump, all except Raven that is. Taking care of Jump's safety is rather difficult when you can't see and a certain thief is playing unwanted house-guest. A 2/3-shot. Four if you're lucky.
1. Chapter 1

"_Titans, listen up." Robin called for attention, "Something big is happening, and it includes Slade. Leads, however, have shown Slade has moved outside Jump's city limits. So we'll be splitting up to track him down." Everyone nodded in understanding, waiting for him to announce teams._

"_Cyborg and Beastboy, you two will head for Sapphire City to see what you can find. Starfire, you'll be coming with me, so I'll explain the details later. Then Raven, I need you to stay in Jump in case of trouble. Still, keep an eye out for Slade, it's possible he might try coming back, think you can handle it?" He waited for conformation before dismissing everyone to prepare for tomorrow morning._

Six days had since passed, and she had heard little from her team. A few days after leaving Robin had begun to suspect someone was tampering with their communicators, and ordered them to be turned off until Cyborg had the chance to look into it. Now communication was limited, Robin or Cyborg would call for an update on how she and the others were doing. Other than that Raven had no way of contacting her team.

Things had been shockingly easy considering the circumstances, more often than not Raven dealt with a simple robbery or heist. The worst there had been was another run in with Dr. Light. Which was fairly easy due to the fact the moment he'd caught sight of her the man had begun trembling with fear. Nothing she was proud of, but what's done is done.

So far nothing had interrupted this fine, peaceful morning, but seeing as it was only five in the morning Raven suspected villains were taking the time to catch up on their beauty sleep. Although it seemed someone was more than ready to prove her wrong as the alarm went off and the crimson light flashed urgently. Raven wasted no time making her way to the surveillance system. She noted the disturbance was in downtown Jump, and there was no signature marking the culprits known enemies. The problem consisted of seven people, one a young girl cowering at the end of an alley. Raven figured it was an ordinary or otherwise unimpressive gang out to cause trouble. Still, worried for the girl the sorceress quickly transported herself to the scene.

As her dark raven receded Raven glanced around but saw no sign of the gang members, so she turned her attention to the terrified girl. Before the demoness had a chance to comfort the petrified girl a gunshot rang out, catching Raven off guard.

Now, most would believe Raven to be much like Superman in some ways; faster than a speeding bullet and such. This could be considered true, on one condition – she had to _know_ it was coming. On this occasion, she unfortunately did not. So the piece of scrap metal continued uninterrupted on its course and tore unforgivingly into her arm. Holding back a cry of pain Raven whirled around to face her attacker as she tried to ignore the pain. Only, upon turning a fist cracked against her face with unimaginable force.

It seemed she'd found the gang, but had made a serious miscalculation. One of them, the leader no doubt, possessed superhuman strength, resulting in Raven slamming against a brick wall five feet away, her head cracking sharply against it. For a moment she felt herself losing consciousness, but immediately pulled herself back. Opening her eyes Raven winced at the pain behind her eyes as her head throbbed, other than that she let none of her pain show.

Before she had time to launch her own attack their superhuman leader lunged forward and once again attacked. Once more she was thrust against the wall, and as before her head met painfully with the wall. Raven couldn't help the groan that escaped her and she reached up to touch the back of her head, and felt the blood streaming from her wound. Forcing herself onto her feet Raven surrounded the whimpering girl in her aura ten hurriedly transferred her to the tall alley backwall, where she would be safe until someone else arrived.

This did nothing to help her situation however, as the leader was by no means happy with her heroic act that had robbed him of his previous toy. With terrifying vigor the man rushed her and this time aimed for her head. Raven managed to dodge this attack by running past, but was left open to his next attack. His fist made contact with the back of her head, the force unbalancing and sending her sprawling across the cold concrete. Again Raven felt consciousness leaving her, and knew she needed to fight the growing darkness but found she could not. Behind her knuckles cracked, and she was gone.

A figure clad in black jumped from one roof to another, searching out his next target. In the early morning Jump was quiet and dark, his two favorite adjectives. Only it seemed some would care to disagree. Hearing hiccupping sobs he turned to the right, and saw the silhouette of a girl sitting on top of an alley wall. Confusion quickly swept over the masked man as he wondered why someone would sit in such a place, not much caring why it was she was crying.

Quietly he approached, careful to remain unseen. As he neared sound from below the girl's perch became evident. Thankfully the building next to the alley loomed a few feet higher, and from there he had the full view of the spectacle below. He was rather surprised to find Raven as part of the entertainment. Although the show did nothing to entertain, in fact, it made him rather angry. It also filled him with an unusual sense of dread.

Below a well-known gang leader, especially known for an unnatural case of superhuman strength, was more or less, pumbling his Raven. What was worse; she didn't seem able to fight back. He could only sit and watch for a moment as she took a rather nasty blow to the head, which sent her spiraling to the ground where her head again cracked violently against the concrete. He watched as she struggled to stand again. But he could see how shaky she was beneath that cape that hid her from everyone else, how difficult it was for her to remain standing, and as expected, she collapsed.

Fury, of a whole new level, coursed through his blood seeing the violet haired girl sprawled across the ground so helplessly. Knuckles cracking he dropped swiftly into the alley as the man started again for the fallen raven.

"How's it going? Having fun I see." Red X's voice was a deadly whisper, hardly heard even in the silent night, but the a threat was evident. "Mind if I take over?" X would've smirked seeing one of the henchmen shiver slightly at his appearance, had he not been so angry. The super strength hotshot didn't look to hot now, in fact, you could almost see him cowering under the façade he unsuccessfully used to mask his growing fear.

"Hey, the shrimp's ours; we got to her first, so go find your own Titan, man." A step forward, a step back. X grinned eerily; sure they would sense it,

"Oh, but I rather like this one. I don't however," Another step forward, "Appreciate people who mess with my things, nor is it very gentlemanly," Another step forward, "to attack a woman so violently, don't you agree?" Red X now stood nose to nose with the leader of this so called gang, and he didn't seem so leader-like at the moment. A few more seconds was all he could take.

"Okay, fine, you want the witch? She's yours, do what with her, I don't care." He insisted, backing up, and quickly running off with the rest of his crew. The phantom stood a few more seconds, making sure they didn't plan on some type of retaliation. Apparently his reputation preceded him, they were long gone. Rushing over to the fallen woman Red X knelt beside her to inspect the damage dealt. Bruises covered her body, as well as a few scratches, most worrisome though were the two knots on the back of her head. Not that he considered himself a doctor in the least, but wounds of this caliber did not belong on the head.

Quickly X finished a quick scan, several ribs had been fractured, and he suspected a wrist sprained, probably as she tried to catch herself at some point. Thinking for a second he realized he wasn't sure where exactly he should take her. Of course not to his house, he already knew how that would end, plus, he needed a good medical facility. And the hospital wouldn't cut it, to many questions. It would have to be the tower then, X decided, if he remembered correctly – which he did – the other Titans were gone for the next few weeks so there would be no problem.

Red X had no trouble making his way onto the Titan's island, having long ago found the secret passage Robin used to get his cycle into the city. Swiftly X dodged the sensors surrounding the Titans' tower. Then bypassed the system in under 15 seconds, which surely would've blown a fuse in the Tin Can, had he seen the feat. Once he had made it into the building the thief abandoned stealth in turn for a quicker approach. Darting though the tower X raced down corridors and floors until he reached the medic room.

Then gently – so as not to further injure Raven's head – Red X sat the girl on the examining table. Making his way around the clinic he collected an armful of supplies, which he sat next to the unconscious girl. From there he couldn't figure out what exactly to do. Start out easy, he decided, and picked up the antiseptic and began applying it wherever it was needed. Only a few cuts needed to be cleaned, none of which needed bandaging.

Picking up a wrap of gauze, X turned to Raven's wrist. After straightening her wrist the thief spun the white fabric around until it covered most hand and a portion of her arm. After Red X was finished he stood still, with only one area left to bandage. Her ribs. Eyeing the unconscious demoness' leotard he sighed fitfully. Bad enough was the fact to bandage a broken rib her shirt would have to be removed, worse was the fact she wasn't _wearing_ a shirt per se.

Red X was nothing of a gentleman, that he himself knew, but he did have a sense of self preservation. He knew very well if Raven woke up in such a condition, she would send him to the darkest dimensions of hell. Frankly, that wasn't on his to do list. With another sigh the life loving thief set to work, a rip in her uniform presenting itself in the form of an answer. Grabbing the edge of the tear X ripped it until it stretched horizontally across the length or Raven's uniform, just under her ribcage. Then he proceeded to do the same on the other side, until the leotard had been ripped into two separate pieces. From there he lifted the top, his gaze avoiding the woman's chest. Quickly he cut a length of gauze before securely winding it around her ribs, ending at her bust. No sooner than he was done the man pulled her shirt down and put everything away.

Coming back to the girl he lifted her light frame and carried her slowly up to her room on the seventh floor. Walking through the electronic door that did nothing to stop him he gently laid her on the dark covers. For a time he stood there, unsure of what to do. Already he knew he couldn't leave quite yet, not until he'd had the chance to irritate his Bluebird. A sudden idea came to mind, and with a light chuckle he decided no harm, no foul.

A groan slipped past Raven's lips as her pounding head forced her awake. Eyes squeezed together she sat up slowly and even with her eyes closed the world seemed to spin. Gripping her head she waited for it to stop, and after a while, it did. Holding her breath tightly she then released it, suddenly wondering what was going on. Violet eyes opened, and met a gaping blackness. Raven blinked, then rubbed her eyes furiously, before looking again. Black.

Panicked the sorceress thought back, what happened? She remembered the alarm, the gang, their leader, saving the girl, and then having been knocked unconscious. Terrified she leaped up, whirling around yet seeing nothing, able to do nothing. Her powers jumped and something shattered. Forcing herself to stop Raven ordered herself to breathe in, then out, and in again.

Backtracking Raven turned around slowly, then feeling for the bed she began to climb on slowly. Only her newfound blindness threw her off, and losing her balance she pitched forward, right onto another body. An odd grunt sounded from beneath her, and an arm reflexively pulled her toward the man.

"Let go of me!" Raven cried with hardly concealed panic. The arm in turn only pulled her closer and a monotone voice answered.

"Aww, but it's only me Sunshine, and might I say, what a wonderful wake up call." She recognized the voice, and was almost relieved, at least now she knew who she was dealing with. The thief leaned back, pulling the struggling girl along.

"What did you do to me?" She demanded, while trying to pull herself away from the man's iron grip. The man shifted, and she could only assume he had turned to look at her. She felt a gloved hand come to pat the top of her head, which she swatted away.

"Nothing Bluebird, promise, I found you playing with the Alrzo gang and stepped in, and what exactly," He began to ask as she glared daggers at him, "Do you have against your blanket?" She shifted her gaze in what she could only hope was more or less him. Perhaps seeing the problem Red X sat up, allowing the girl to snatch herself from his grasp.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" He questioned and her glare intensified. He grabbed her chin and tweaked it to the left, where she assumed his eyes were.

"I don't know whatever you _did_ to them!" Raven replied, and scooted backwards in order to get away from but was stopped as he gripped her arm.

"Okay, sit still before you fall off the edge of your bed, and let me see the back of your head, will you?" Irritated Raven lashed out, and got lucky, managing to land a blow on his costumed figure. Tisking X pulled her forward, trapping her arms to her side with on hand as he turned her around. He prodded and poked around the back of her head until she flinched as he touched a tender spot. After a second more of examination he released her and she turned around, aiming and successfully hitting Red X with a fist to the cheek.

"Sunshine, I'll have you know… that hurts."


	2. Chapter 2

"You should know, hitting someone unarmed is not considered very heroic. Many of your undying fans would be extremely disappointed to hear you'd do such a thing." He leaned closer to whisper secretively, "But I won't tell anyone, Sunshine." A teasing air entered his glamoured voice. He waited long enough for a crimson blush to bloom across Raven's uncloaked face before pulling back.

"Onto more pressing matters…" Red X ended his antics, trading it for a more serious tone, "Rick, the Alrzo gang leader, hit your occipital lobe. I'm not sure how hard exactly, so I can't tell you whether this'll be temporary or permanent. But with your demon blood my guess is give it a few days and you'll be back on your feet in no time." Of course this, by no means, reassured Raven in any way. Angrily she pushed herself up off her bed and stumbled blindly in what she hoped was the direction to her bathroom.

"Sunshine, I wouldn't–" The thief was cut off as Raven bumped into something, sending said object crashing to the ground. It shattered. With muttered curses the sorceress did her best to skirt around the mess and through the minefield that was her room. Walking towards what she was sure was the bathroom she was shocked by the sudden sensation of being lifted into the air.

"What the heck?" The irritable half-demon demanded, in absolutely no mood for any of the thief's teasing games. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't find my way alone! Let me down." Raven could feel her aura lashing out at this point, ready to break whatever it could find. Quickly she calmed herself and pulled back the mass of energy before it dealt any more damage than she already had. Red X only laughed.

"Unfortunately you cannot however, see the shards you just scattered across the floor. It was such a lovely piece too, what origin? Byzantine? Roman? Athens maybe?"

"Azarathian." Raven ground out as X sat her back down and began to walk her across the floor. The man gave a monotonous 'hmm' of contemplation.

"I'm afraid I haven't had the honor of attaining such a piece, where did you manage to find one? Another late night espionage?*" He watched as she bristled at the accusation.

"They are not something you would easily come across now a day, any on Earth have long since been retrieved or destroyed." One of Raven's books relevant to Azarathian history actually told of the happening. All Azarathian artifacts were infused with some kind of charm or spell, granting safety or luck, and in that time those from Azarath freely traveled from their home to Earth, and many of their arts followed them.

As soon as people realized the abilities - which were by them considered, of course, other worldly - and kings sought out the artifacts to aid them in their own conquests for power. When the Azarathians, true pacifists for over a millennia, saw the damage and war surrounding the objects they knew something needed to be done. Soon after people had been sent to reclaim the artifacts, or destroy any that could not be retrieved. Two short years completed the reclamation. The one in Raven's possession had merely been a keepsake, supposed to keep away intruders, although clearly it was not very strong.

"What else do you have in here, Sunshine?" X inquired, reminding Raven that at the moment she shared a room full of strong, rare, and dangerous books and potions with a cocky, pompous, extremely capable thief.

"Don't call me Sunshine. And don't. Touch. Anything." Just her luck he'd go straight or her collection of dragon's bane, which contrary to the 'common sense' of humans was also in fact - if not more so - deadly to humans as well. Not to mention the countless spells and incantations sitting on her shelves, ready to be activated by anyone with a tongue. Unfortunately, and also contrary to popular belief, it didn't take a sorceress to work strong magic, it only took a sorceress to do it _correctly_.

The thief chuckled, whether it was because he hadn't been planning to or it was absurd to assume he wouldn't try to pull something when there was no one to stop him, Raven could only hope. Either way, as soon as she reached the bathroom she wasted no time shoving him away and slamming the door in his face.

Turning on the water she washed her face, mainly her eyes, before looking up into the mirror for her reflection. Nothing. She tried again, but still with no results. Sighing harshly she finished with the bathroom before walking back out, this time her destination the door.

"A smidge to the left." The monotone voice suggested, and keeping in mind her goal, did as he said. Whether he noted the fact or not Red X didn't mention it but instead continued, "A bit more... not that much, good. See? You don't need to see when I'm here." He began teasing again, and Raven was more than ready to slap that smirk of his face.

"Shut up and help me, or go away." The demoness instructed intent on making it to the kitchen with her pride still intact. The man obliged and together they made it down the hall and stairs without much bad intent. Once the pair had entered the kitchen and X managed to show her to a seat with no remarks, and was rewarded with only a small shove.

"I will _not_ have you making my food." Raven straight out refused as she pushed herself up out of the chair. She was blind, not insane.

"Now now, it's not like I'm going to poison your food, I'm much to kind for that." He said in what Raven assumed was supposed to be mockingly sincere, it really was hard to tell sometimes. She scoffed either way.

"Kind my foot, you think I'm going to believe that when I wake up with no clue where I am and only _you_ around?" She retorted as she stepped towards the fridge. X tutted in dismay.

"Hate to burst your bubble Bluebird, but isn't that exactly what happened this morning?" The thief pointed out. Raven stopped, she had walked herself right into that one. She had to admit he also made a legitimate point, if he hadn't stepped in whenever he did she certainly wouldn't have woken up in the tower this morning, in fact she probably wouldn't have woken up at all. She sighed.

"Fine, but I'm making my own tea, end of story." She had gone through the motions so many times she doubted her sight was even required any longer. Red X seemed content with this, she wouldn't be able to set anything on fire this way, so they both began. As they maneuvered in the spacious kitchen X respectfully stayed out of Raven's way as she repeatedly headed unknowingly straight in his direction without comment.

As she had suspected Raven had no trouble making her way from the cabinet to the stove, or getting out the kettle. In no time everything was set up and all that was left was to wait for the water to heat. Unfortunately Raven knew she wouldn't be able to make it to a chair without drawing unwanted attention, unknowing the thief was already keeping an eye on her, and so remained standing. Seeing her dilemma the man put down what he was mixing and stepped silently over to the damsel, taking her by the shoulder and maneuvering her easily into a nearby chair. He also noted her scarlet coloring as she stared unseeingly in his general direction.

"I'll bring it to you once it starts whistling, so just sit back and try to relax will ya?" Then returned to cooking without a word. There was silence over the expanse of the next few minutes, hanging thick in the air until X absentmindedly broke through it asking, "So what was up with last night? I go for a midnight jump and see you with Rick and some blonde up on a wall."

Raven rolled her eyes at his choice of words, making it sound as if she had intended to hang out with the guy, and shouldn't it be rather obvious what a girl was doing out of the reach of a gang leader? Still she explained, "Whatever they were doing was caught by the system, I just didn't know their leader had super strength, so I was caught off guard. The girl ended up there when I realized I was in trouble."

*** Reference to Exchanging Roles**


	3. Chapter 3

For a long moment Red X made no comment, and instead turned back to the counter or stove where he was cooking. Raven however could feel an unusual air about the man, but decided against questioning the thief.

"Last night...you could've died, Raven, if I hadn't found you when I did." He breached the silence once more, with a much more somber tone. "You need to be more careful." Raven didn't like the edge his voice had taken on, if she didn't know better she might say it sounded as if the thief cared for her safety.

Says the man who takes idiotic risks on a daily basis." The demoness retorted, in part to divert the odd conversation to something a bit more... normal. She could practically feel the frown he sent her way.

"Raven please. I have no desire to see you killed." He continued, his voice, even masked as it was held strong feeling and it was all Raven could manage to look away, the fact she couldn't even see him aside. A hand grabbed her by the chin and repositioned her face once more towards the thief. As she exhaled she could feel her breath return and knew the man's face was a mere few inches from her own.

"Promise me." The demoness paused a moment, before jerking herself from her momentary stupor. She scowled.

"I do not make promises I do not intend to keep, nor," She continued icily, "Do I make promises to the likes of you." Making sure to keep an even tone.

"Isn't that in your little villains rule book as well?" He was quiet a moment, until the whistle of the kettle tore through the silence. As he stood straight, which she could figure only by the light rustling of his cloak. He let out a small, humorless chuckle, which was morphed into an eerie sound, causing a shudder to run down her spine.

"I suspect you are correct, now milady, if you will allow I would like to prepare your tea." The brazen man deftly closed the discussion while the sorceress simply sat looking in the general direction of the man, listening to his movements, trying to discern his actions. After he had gone through the motions she so commonly did a china class was placed before her with a faint clatter.

As she held the warm glass between her hands the man returned to his earlier task. Soon the kitchen filled with the smells of a used kitchen, and only then did the half demon realize how hungry she was. Not much longer and a plate was set carefully before her.

"Bacon, eggs, and waffles; I hope they are all to your liking?" The chef offhandedly asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer. Raven knew it was best not to wonder how a theif would come to know a hero's personal preferences, and instead gave a nod as she began feeling around for the fork. A hand fell atop hers, halting its movement. She growled and controlled the urge to break the offending object, seeing no favorable outcome in doing so.

"Don't even-" Raven began but stopped as a strip of bacon was skillfully shoved into her mouth.

"No complaining." This infuriating _savor_ cut in, "How can you except to eat when you can't see where it is?" H was right, of course, she'd even go so far as to admit. However, she refused to allow someone to feed her like a child. Instead of replying she began eating what what she could, even if it only consisted of what had been shoved so ungraciously into her mouth. As she did so the ignored the thief, while still feeling his eyes as they rested lazily upon her.

It wasn't much longer before she was once again at a loss, attainable food gone and a long way to go. From her right the man released a sigh, undeniable the effect of her refusal to cooperate. The sorceress then heard the scuffling of an item – her fork – being picked up. Raven analyzed the man's movement in an attempt to figure where exactly he was, intend on knocking his lights out if he so much as even though about making an attempt at feeding her.

It came as a surprise when Raven's fork was smoothly slipped into her hand, before moved across her plate. Once she'd gotten a forkful the thief then returned to his own meal, leaving her to feed herself. Throughout the rest of their meal this was the method utilized, allowing the violet haired girl to eat while retaining whatever dignity she hadn't lost the night before. After the pair had finished, the demoness propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms as the thief put the dishes in the sink. Raven sighed, here she was, the only Titan left in Jump, and depending on the support of Jump's most notorious thief. Another sigh. With no way to contact her team it went without saying she had worked herself into quite the dilemma. Only it didn't seem to end there.

Raven was caught completely by surprise as she was suddenly tackled to the ground, feeling all three feet between her and the ground as she crashed into the ground. Simultaneously a gunshot rang out, along with the shattering sound of glass as the bullet sped through one of the Titans' large windows.

"Stay down!" X warned, as if getting up was even a possibility, since his body still lay over hers, acting as a shield. After the thief was sure the attack would not continue he picked himself up. Giving no chance for refusal he gathered Raven off the floor, and holding her in his arms rushed from the kitchen into the living room, calm as if he'd been expecting the attack.

"What are you doing?" Raven demanded, before insisting she be put down. His sigh of frustration was quite audible.

"Now would not be the time, Sunshine, we're being shot at. Or rather, you are." With no retort Raven was left to wonder who would be behind the attack. Her first conclusion was likely correct; someone wanted payback for last night.

"Where are we going, then?" She wanted to know, confident there would be no need to give the thief – who had probably memorized the tower's blue prints – directions of any kind. With a silent chuckle he answered.

"My place."


	4. Chapter 4

Raven stood very, very still.

This had to be the most absurd of situations she had managed to oh-so-gracefully land herself in. She'd been beaten blind by a single man. Rescued by one of the Titan's most sought after criminals. _Fed_ by the very same man. And now, in this very moment, Raven stood in what she could only estimate was the center of the ever elusive Red X's living room.

This was really turning into a terrible morning. Especially now that she was tripping over carpet edges and stumbling into coffee tables. Raven swore silently as her shin made a particularly nasty run in with a table.

"Having trouble Sunshine?" A lofty voice called cheerfully across the room, causing the violet-haired demoness to jump slightly. Dealing with this heroic villain was particularly trying without powers; paired with her blindness it was impossible to even sense the man's presence, as he'd just displayed.

"None what-so-ever." She bit back, sinking onto a leather couch cautiously. He chuckled, and continued about whatever task he'd set upon. Listening carefully Raven was able to discern the soft tread of his feet, as well as the shuffling of whatever was in his hands. "How long do you intend to keep me here?" Raven wasn't sure she could withstand X's presence long enough to wait until she had regained her eyesight.

The man made a contemplative hum, "I don't know, Sunshine, I've become rather attached to my little Bluebird." He chuckled. "Maybe I'll just keep you." Raven growled, wishing she had the ability to go after the pain. "Hey, hey!" The man laughed, his unmasked voice odd compared to the synthetic one.

"Just sit back and go with the flow." He answered with all seriousness, "We'll just have to see the way things go." With that he returned to the work before him, while Raven could only heave a sigh – the first of many. Minutes passed and the sorceress began to feel awkward, sitting with nothing to do. Tortuously she realized there wasn't much she _could_ do; moving around was hard enough, let alone in a foreign room, and reading was out of the question, until now she had never quite realized just how mandatory eyesight was.

A few, rather loud, sounds came from X's direction and then the distinct sound of him standing up? "There we go, all done." The man announced, pleased.

"With what?" She ventured, not expecting much of an answer.

"With any luck, something that might help speed up your healing process." Raven twitched. The only thing keeping her in this state – unable to heal herself – was due to the fact she couldn't see; it was like being in the dark, looking for a flashlight, but needing one in order to find it. As it were, considering her problem was with her magic, magic was necessary for any boost in her healing process. Red X was someone Raven considered relatively smart, and there was no denying he knew, or had at least figured, all of this already.

"How did you–"

"Now, now, I'm simply trying to help, be a good girl and take your medicine, Sunshine." He interrupted, placing a small glass in her hand. In response she simply glared in his direction, not caring about her accuracy.

"I'm truly hurt, you doubt my resources?" He teased with a mock-hurt tone. Raven snarled, he had to be kidding! He was trying to shove down her throat something with the potential to kill her, depending on how badly he'd screwed up.

"Absolutely not." She refused, thrusting the glass back in his direction. "God knows where you got the mixture for that, and Azar help me all the things you've likely done wrong." She reprimanded, crossing her arms angrily.

"My source is perfectly suitable, and rest assured I followed the instructions to a T."

"I don't trust any 'source' but my own." Raven remained steadfast in her decision. Hearing a sheepish chuckle the young woman's face darkened considerably.

"Well, my source just so happens to be one of your books, Sunshine, and might I say, very detailed instructions you've added; much as it pains me to see what you've done to what must be priceless volumes.

"You _stole from my library?_" Raven snarled, enraged, "Didn't I tell you _specifically_ not to touch my books?" She demanded. "Do you kno-" Again the demoness was cut off, as the glass was placed to her lips, and the contents tipped into her mouth. In her surprise she could do nothing but swallow, and begin coughing as it made its way down her throat difficultly. X thumped her back steadily, which in reality did little more than make her angrier.

"What the hell," Coughing stopped her for a moment, "Do you think you're doing?" She demanded as she tried to clear her mouth of the bitter taste of sage and thyme. While she did this, Red X stood and made off with the glass, heading for what must have been the kitchen. It was a few more seconds before the coughing subsided, and the thief made his way back into the room.

"You didn't seem willing to take it any other way, sorry Sunshine." He replied, sitting next to her once again. Furious, uncharacteristically so, Raven leaped at the man, who was close enough missing was no concern. With or without her sight, she was going to tear him a new one.

The demoness was lucky enough to land one good blow across his face, hitting his cheekbone, before he pinned her arms to her side. It was then Raven realized none of his attire consisted of his Red X outfit – he was dressed in everyday clothes.

"Calm down, no need for such a fuss." He chided, "Do you really think I'd give you something if I thought there was even the possibility of it harming my little Bluebird?" Her only response was another glare. Taking no heed of her foul response the man sat the sorceress by his side before standing up.

"How about a movie, eh? You may not be able to see it, but sound should do just fine." Taking her silence as confirmation, she listened as the man crossed the room to what must have been the entertainment center. "So, comedy, action, adventure, or romance?" She could feel his grin at the mention of the last one, and only scoffed. Knowing what would be chosen if she refused to pick she voiced her choice.

"Adventure or action." So help her if he happened to have Batman's Return, Spiderman, or any of those other ghastly hero shows she'd get up and leave right now. There was silence until she heard the DVD player being drawn out, and the pop and clatter as he opened the case and tossed it in. Once the title screen was up and play was hit, X plopped himself back onto the couch next to her, making himself comfortable.

Unhappy with the closeness Raven was attempting to move over when a lazy arm encircled her waist, pulling her back against his side. "Ah ah! It's bonding time deary, it's no fun if you're all the way over there." Red X explained in something akin to a whiny voice, before laughing cheerfully, "So how do you like Transformers, Sunshine, hmm?" Raven huffed a sigh, making no reply – not even to reprimand the thief on the nickname, well-knowing it would only encourage him.

Twenty minutes into the movie and Raven was feeling oddly tired, and after a few moments of her newly-slowed mind, she figured it must be an after effect of the potion so kindly forced upon her. If he had done anything to mess up the mixture, she swore, she'd come back and kill him. A yawn broke her lips. To her right Red X shifted slightly in her direction, presumably checking on the sleepy Titan, but making no comment.

Minutes ticked by slowly, and the demoness' sightless eyes only continued to grow heavier and heavier. With difficultly she fought against the oncoming wave of darkness trying to claim her mind, refusing to fall asleep in the presence of the thief without a fight. Unfortunately willpower prolonged the inevitable only a short while longer, and barley halfway through the movie the dark haired woman leaned against X's shoulder, and seconds later was dozing.

The thief looked over, laughing quietly as a small, genuine smile crept onto his face, before returning his attention to he television; but not before dragging the sorceress just a little bit closer.

Groaning a disgruntled sorceress sat up, holding her slightly aching head. Opening her eyes she looked around, instantly focusing on the shattered vase near her bookshelf. Groaning sourly she recalled the previous day, short-lived as it was. The next thing she noticed was her open window, with purple curtains billowing softly. She wouldn't be to surprised if he'd only just now left.

"Raven!" The demoness turned to see Boy Wonder standing at the entrance of her room, a worried look across his face. "Are you okay?"

"Dude, what _happened_?" Questioned Beast Boy, showing up moments later, followed by Starfire and Cyborg.

"Has friend Raven remained unharmed?"

"Yo, Rae, what went down? You didn't answer our call yesterday, thought something might'a happened."

"Looks like we were right." Robin commented seriously, looking suspiciously around the room for anything that might be considered a clue.

"It's..." Raven paused, going over the passed two days, "Been busy, but everything's fine." She reassured stoically. Robin studied her for a moment, before deeming her explanation satisfactory.

"Okay, everyone to the living room for a debriefing; Raven, you can explain what happened then." Robin took the lead, leaving everyone else to follow.


End file.
